Apparatus for spontaneous or artificial respiration

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for spontaneous and artificial respiration with an attachment for a gas source, a flexible bladder for respiratory gas connected to the attachment via a valve system, and a mouth valve having an expiratory valve and an attachment for a respiratory mask, the said valve system being connected to the mouth valve via a hose while the bladder is connected via a channel and a flexible hose to a closed chamber with a diaphragm in the mouth valve, said diaphragm being so arranged that, at elevated pressure in said chamber, it expands and preloads the expiratory valve, the bladder being further connected via a spring-loaded one-way valve to the hose between the mouth valve and the valve system, said one-way valve being on elevated pressure in the bladder openable in the direction from the bladder to said hose against the force of a spring.

United States Patent Elistrand July 22, 1975 APPARATUS FOR SPONTANEOUS OR Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaudet ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION Assistant Examiner-Henry .l. Recla t, F' -S h ,Rth ll,M [76] Inventor: Stig Olof Elfstrand, Hertigvagen 6, g; ug we 0 we 126 52 Hagersten, Sweden p [22] Filed: Apr. 25, I974 Appl. No.: 464,097

[57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for spontaneous and artificial respiration with an attachment for a gas source. a flexible bladder for respiratory gas connected to the attachment via a valve system, and a mouth valve having an expiratory valve and an attachment for a respiratory mask. the said valve system being connected to the mouth valve via a hose while the bladder is connected via a channel and a flexible hose to a closed chamber with a diaphragm in the mouth valve, said diaphragm being so arranged that, at elevated pressure in said chamber, it expands and preloads the expiratory valve, the bladder being further connected via a spring-loaded one-way valve to the hose between the mouth valve and the valve system, said one-way valve being on elevated pressure in the bladder openable in the direction from the bladder to said hose against the force of a spring.

5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures The invention relates to an apparatus for spontaneous or artificial respiration with an attachment fora gas source, a valve system, a flexible bladder for respiratory gas connected to the attachment via the valve system, and a mouth valve furnished with an expiratory valve and with attachment for respiratory mask or other attachment to a patient, the valve system being connected to the mouth valve viaa hose.

Respiration apparatuses of this kind can be used both for anaesthesia and for artificial oxygen respiration. On spontaneous breathing the respiratory gas -flows through the hose and themouth valve to the patient and thence viathe expiratory valve out into the surrounding atmosphere. A one-way valve in the valve system prevents reflow of the expiratory air to the gas source. I

Respiration apparatuses shouldas a rule offer the least possible resistance both to inspiration and expiration. They should also enclose as small as possible a dead gas volume, i.e. the gas volume between the pa.- tients lips on the one hand and the expiratory valve on the other must be small, which means that the latter must be situated as close to the lips as possible. A further requirement is that the mouth valve must impose only a low weight on the patients face and that auxiliary respiratory valvesmust be removed from the face in order to facilitate work with the patient, e.g. during palatal operations.

The object of this invention is to propose a respiration apparatus of the introductorily described kind, which complies with these requirements and can be used also for infants in a couveuse, assisted respiration being possible with closed couveuse. For such assisted respiration it must be possible to keep the expiratory valve closed against a rather higher pressure than that with which the respiratory gas is supplied to the patient. During spontaneous breathing, on the other hand, the expiratory valve must be openable with minimal resistance or selectable resistance. The invention thus also has the object of producing a respiration apparatus with a mouth valve which performs this resetting operation automatically.

This is achieved according to the invention chiefly through the fact that the flexible bladder is connected via a channel and a flexible hose to a closed chamber or the like containing a diaphragm, in the mouth valve, that the diaphragm is so arranged that, at elevated pressure in the bladder, and hence in the chamber, it ex pands and blocks or preloads the expiratory valve, that furthermore the bladder is connected via a springloaded one-way valve to the hose between the mouth valve and the valve system, and that on elevatedprcssure in the bladder this one-way valve is openable in the direction from the bladder to said hose against the force of a spring. Appropriately an overpressure safety device may be connected to the valve system and to the hose between the mouth valve and the valve system in order to prevent the patient from being exposed to too high a respiration pressure. The force of the spring loading the one-way valve may, advantageously be made adjustable.

The invention willnow be described with reference to an embodiment of a respirationapparatus according to the invention as shown in the attached drawing, in which purely schematically FIG. 1 shows in cross-section a top view of the respiration apparatus according to the invention and FIG. -2 a lateral view of the valve system with overpressure safety device,

When used for anaesthesia or artificial oxygen respiration the respiration apparatus is connected via a reservoir bladder l to a not reproduced gas source of the intended kind. To the mouth valve 3 at the top of FIG. l is connected anv anaesthetic mask or other attachment tothe patient. The mouth valve 3 has an expiratory valve 4. During spontaneous inspiration gas flows through the mouth valve to the patient and, on expiration, via the expiratory valve 43 out through holes 6 to the surrounding atmosphere. A one-way valve 7 in the valve system 15 prevents expired gas from flowing back to the reservoirv bladder l. The mouth valve is connected via a rubber hose 13 to the valve system 15. This valve system 15 comprises, among other items, a oneway valve 9 which is openable only in the direction from the reservoir bladder 1 to a respiratory bladder 8. The latter expands on supply of respiratory gas from the gas source.

From said bladder 8 a channel 10 leads to a springloaded one-way valve 11 which is connected to the hose 13 between the mouth valve 3 and the valve system 15. At elevated pressure in the bladder 8 the oneway valve 11 is openable in the direction from the bladder 8 to said hose 13 against the force of a spring, with adjustable pretension.

Furthermorethe bladder 8 is connected via the channel 10 and a thin flexible hose 14, running preferentially parallel to the hose 13, to a chamber, with a diaphragm 5, in the mouth valve 3. The diaphragm 5 is so arranged that, at elevated pressure in the chamber, it expands towards the left in FIG. 1, so blocking the valve disc of the expiratory valve 4 or exercising a counter-pressure upon it which must be overcome before the valve opens.

When the patients breathing is to be assisted, one presses at regular intervals on the self-expanding bladder 8. The one-way valve 9 is already closed or closes and the gas is forced through channel 10 first to the hose 14 and the chamber, whereby the rubber diaphragm 5 is expanded in the above described manner and keeps the expiratory valve 4 closed with a given counter-pressure. On additional pressure on the flexible bladder 8 the valve cone of the spring-loaded oneway valve 11 is pressed out of the way to the left in the figure, so that the gas can pass through and enter the patients lungs via channel 2, hose 13, mouth valve 3 and the respiratory mask. When the pressure on bladder 8 is sufficiently relieved, the diaphragm 5 returns from its expanded state and releases the respiratory valve 4, so that the patients expiratory air can flow out through the respiratory valve and the holes 6 in the same way as on spontaneous expiration.

An adjustable overpressure safety device 12 in the valve system precludes injurious overpressure in the patients lungs during assisted respiration in the above described manner.

With this respiration apparatus, furthermore, the patient can be ventilated with overpressure by constant supply of a given pressure via the reservoir 1, which is propagated via the one-way valve 9, channel 10 and hose 14 to the chamber and diaphragm 5, which then bears against the valve disc of the expiratory valve 4 with a slight counter pressure so that a certain expiratory pressure, exceeding the surrounding atmospheric pressure, is required for expiration. Such assisted respiration may be of interest even for so-called premature infants. In lay terms these infants have not fully developed pulmonary lobes, with the result that the lobes stick together on expiration when the lung is emptied of air. On the next breath the infant must exert itself to reopen the lobes. In other words, resistance is offered to breathing, so that the infant tends to neglect to breathe or certain portions of the lobes remain stuck together also on inspiration, with certain complications in consequence. By applying by means of the respiration apparatus according to the invention an adjustable end-expiratory resistance, i.e. the stopping of expiration with a resistance which is settable to, for example, 2-14 cm water gauge, the lobes can be prevented from collapsing and sticking.

Although the invention has been described with reference to one of its embodiments, it can be arbitrarily varied within the scope of the subsequent claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for spontaneous or artificial respiration having an attachment (1) for a gas source, a valve system a flexible bladder (8) for respiratory gas connected to the attachment (1) via the valve systern, and a mouth valve (3) having an expiratory valve (4), said mouth valve being connected to means engagable with a patient to direct gas into the respiratory system and being connected to the valve system (15) via a hose (13), the improvements comprising:

a. bladder (8) connected via a channel (10) and a flexible hose (14) to a closed chamber. containing a diaphragm (5), in the mouth valve (3), said diaphragm (5) being operatively associated with said expiratory valve such that, when the pressure in said bladder (8) exceeds the pressure in said valve system, the diaphragm (5) expands and preloads the expiratory valve (4); means communicating the bladder (8) to the hose (13) between the mouth valve (3) and the valve system, such that when the pressure in said bladder exceeds the pressure in said valve system, the means allows a one-way communication between the bladder (8 and said hose (13) and wherein said means is adjustable.

2. Respiration apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means connecting the bladder (8) with the hose (13) comprises a spring-loaded one way valve (11), biased in the closed position, and moved to the open position when the pressure in said bladder (8) exceeds the pressure in said valve system.

3. Respiration apparatus according to claim 2 characterized in that the force with which the spring acts upon the one-way valve (11) is adjustable.

4. Respiration apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that an overpressure safety device (12) is connected to the valve system and the hose (l3).

5. Respiration apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the release pressure of the overpressure safety device (12) is adjustable independently of the spring adjustment of the one-way valve (11). 

1. In an apparatus for spontaneous or artificial respiration having an attachment (1) for a gas source, a valve system (15), a flexible bladder (8) for respiratory gas connected to the attachment (1) via the valve system, and a mouth valve (3) having an expiratory valve (4), said mouth valve being connected to means engagable with a patient to direct gas into the respiratory system and being connected to the valve system (15) via a hose (13), the improvements comprising: a. bladder (8) connected via a channel (10) and a flexible hose (14) to a closed chamber, containing a diaphragm (5), in the mouth valve (3), said diaphragm (5) being operatively associated with said expiratory valve such that, when the pressure in said bladder (8) exceeds the pressure in said valve system, the diaphragm (5) expands and preloads the expiratory valve (4); means communicating the bladder (8) to the hose (13) between the mouth valve (3) and the valve system, such that when the pressure in said bladder exceeds the pressure in said valve system, the means allows a one-way communication between the bladder (8) and said hose (13) and wherein said means is adjustable.
 2. Respiration apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means connecting the bladder (8) with the hose (13) comprises a spring-loaded one way valve (11), biased in the closed position, and moved to the open position when the pressure in said bladder (8) exceeds the pressure in said valve system.
 3. Respiration apparatus according to claim 2 characterized in that the force with which the spring acts upon the one-way valve (11) is adjustable.
 4. Respiration apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that an overpressure safety device (12) is connected to the valve system and the hose (13).
 5. Respiration apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the release pressure of the overpressure safety device (12) is adjustable independently of the spring adjustment of the one-way valve (11). 